Monday 7 June 2010


Since my main intention for this blog spot is to focus on my art explorations, I thought....now that I can get back to it properly....I would upload a few of the drawings/paintings I have done most recently. I was experimenting with ordinary pastels when I did this, as when I did "Faerie". They were the first two pictures where pastels were my main medium. I have used oil pastels a lot before, although not for drawing faces, but for some reason, had not wanted to try ordinary pastels. Now I am hooked.....I really enjoyed experimenting with these.

With this image I tried to combine working with pastel with a collaged background and I wanted the girl to look as if she was just stepping out of it....her "story" is common to lots of women I expect....shy, not confident and having to dress up for something and "step out of the background". It certainly is an aspect of me. Isn't it funny how you can work on something when drawing or painting and then suddenly see some real aspect of yourself emerging. I really noticed this with two things in particular. Firstly it was the hairslide. I have an absolute passion for hair slides, have done since a teenager. For some silly reason, whenever I don't feel confident about myself if I put in a hairslide, it makes me feel much better!! They are also a lovely way of "dressing up" a bit without having to spend much or go too far! Secondly, I over-emphasised her lips and made them quite pink. I hated lipstick till I was about 40 and only then used a very pale one. I still normally only use a very pale one if I bother at all....but here I am much later in life....being like most women and loving to buy a new lipstick. Mostly they stay unused in my drawer, waiting for the day I will be brave enough to wear a darker one....but it has been so long now that I haven't worn a darker one, that I always thinks people will really notice if I do! Isn't that silly really....but my point is I really felt that, as I was colouring in her lips, that I was putting a bit of me on the page and that is when I realised the whole thing was a reflection of one bit of me or something buried deep inside. I wonder how many others of us do this in our work?

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